An Alternate Point of View
by cyher
Summary: The lives of SG1 are changed forever when Dr. Samantha Carter and Major Charles Kawalsky step through the quantum mirror. Based on the season 3 episode Point of View but with a twist.
1. Prologue

Title: An Alternate Point of View  
Author: cyher, aka cyren2132  
Author's Notes: I don't own anything. Some of the dialogue was lifted from the season 3 episode "Point of View" and for that credit goes to Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, and Tor Alexander Valenza. The show belongs to Viacom, Gekko Productions, et al.

**Prologue**

The corridors were thick with smoke and haze, but Dr. Samantha Carter ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She followed Major Kawalsky around this corner and that corner and by the time he stopped moving, Samantha wasn't even sure what part of the base she was in.

"Is this it?" she asked him. They were standing in front of a supply closet. To her it looked like every other supply closet on the base, and certainly not someplace the military would keep an advanced piece of alien technology.

"Yeah," Kawalsky said. "Jack showed me just before…" There was no need to finish the sentence. Samantha knew what 'just before,' meant. Just before Apophis' ship got close enough to be spotted from Earth. Just before he wiped out most of the major cities on the planet. Just before landing on the mountain and killing the only man she ever really loved. She knew what he meant..

Kawalsky glanced from side to side before firing three short shots into the locked door. With one more kick the room was open, and he quickly ushered Samantha inside. There it sat, in the middle of the closet. The quantum mirror: their last beacon of hope.

They had found it not long ago on P3X-233 surrounded by artifacts from hundreds of other planets. No one was sure of its exact origin, but once they realized what it was capable of—once they realized they could use it to travel to parallel realities that might hold the secret to defeating the Goa'uld—they had to have it.

No one had tried it yet. Well, no one except Daniel, but that had been an accident. It was a miracle that they got him back. Jack and Daniel were both gone now. Samantha struggled to hold back tears while Kawalsky searched for a safe reality. They saw four goa'uld occupied worlds, two that didn't appear to be worlds at all--just pools of multicolored light—and one world that was so dark there was no way to tell what they'd be walking into. Kawalsky kept trying. Daniel had shown him how to use the hand device, but it required a certain finesse that Kawalsky hadn't quite mastered.

They could hear the enemy filing down the hallway, led by the angry yells of the first prime of Apophis. Kawalsky switched from world to world, but everything seemed so wrong.

"JAFFA!" the first prime yelled, and the clang of armor on concrete grew louder.

Finally, a world appeared that didn't look like the others. He nodded at Samantha. As they reached out to touch the glass, he stopped and grabbed her shoulder.

"_If anything happens to me," Jack had said, "You'll take care of her, right?" _Kawalsky hadn't immediately said anything, for fear that even acknowledging the possibility would make it likely to happen. _ "She's my family, Charlie, please." _ Jack knew it annoyed Kawalsky when he called him Charlie, but that was Jack O'Neill for you. He could ask you a favor and piss you off all at the same time and still leave you wanting to help him.

"Do you think it's safe?" he asked Samantha, searching her eyes for an answer.

"I don't see any serpent guards," she said.

"That's not what I meant."

Samantha took Kawalsky's hand, gently sliding her fingers between his.

"I know."

Together they touched the mirror and disappeared.

* * *

"Hey, kids, what's the big emer—whoa!" Jack O'Neill said as he entered the SGC infirmary. "What happened to you?"

Carter looked up at him in surprise. It was nothing to the surprise Jack felt. In addition to long hair, which was definitely not within air force requirements and kind of freaked Jack out, his second in command also appeared to be about nine months pregnant.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I was going to make this chapter longer, but I really want to stick with weekly updates. Don't worry, you won't be missing out on anything.

Disclaimer:Stargate SG-1 is the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions, SciFi Channel, and Showtime/Viacom. No copyright infringement intended, no money being made. Some dialogue is borrowed from the episode, and for that, credit goes to Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, and Tor Alexander Valenza.**  
**

**Chapter 1**

"Jack," Samantha said. She couldn't keep her voice from shaking. "I didn't expect…you're dead…" Jack cocked his head and took a step forward.

"No, I don't think so," he answered. "Although, that might explain a lot."

"Don't feel so bad, Colonel. Everybody keeps telling me the same thing."

"Kawalsky!" Jack's eyes widened as he turned to face his old friend. Except it couldn't be his friend, because his friend was dead. This freaked him out more than Carter. Carter he could rationalize: Side effect of a planet. Practical joke. There could be endless possibilities, but Kawalsky was dead, and unlike Daniel he didn't have a habit of miraculous resurrection. "This isn't possible."

"I'm afraid it is, Colonel," Doctor Fraiser said. "Blood work and dental records confirm that this _is_ Major Charles Kawalsky."

"Yeah, right down to the fillings in my teeth," Kawalsky said. "Only difference is I'm not supposed to be alive in your reality any more than you are in mine." He turned to face Samantha, his eyes full of sincere regret. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"Does _anyone_ want to let me know what the hell's going on here?" Jack asked, eyeing everyone in the room.

"It's not the same with us, here, is it?" Carter asked. Jack tried to ignore the kicked-puppy expression that he couldn't figure out.

"Anyone?"

"They appeared a couple of hours ago in an Ellis high-security lock up." Hammond said.

"That quantum mirror you got locked up over at Area 51," Kawalsky said, turning an almost, but not quite accusatory glare to Jack. "You guys never figured out how to use it?"

"Is he talking about that alternate reality thing Daniel futzed with on 233?" Jack asked.

Kawalsky lowered his head and tried not to laugh. It was nice to know that even in alternate realities, some things never changed.

"We can't be followed if that's what you're worried about," Sam said. "I brought the remote with us."

"I've ordered the device sent here under heavy guard," Hammond said. "In the meantime, Colonel, I'd like to see you and the rest of your team in the briefing room."

* * *

Carter could honestly say that this was the most surreal moment of her life. No, really. The robot versions of SG-1 didn't even come close. She stared harder at the television. If she squinted, the pregnant woman on the screen almost didn't look like her. Not that it mattered, because she still sounded like her. 

"_What do I know about the stargate!" _ Samantha yelled into the camera, _"Everything!_ _We've been through this!_

"_Let's go through it again,"_

"_Oh for cryin'outloud,"_ Samantha said, and it was enough to make Carter's jaw literally drop. Jack turned in his chair, eyebrows raised as if to say 'that's _my_ line, Major.' Carter was sure she looked stupid, with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open, but she didn't care. This was all just a little too much.

Samantha kept talking about the stargate and a goa'uld attack on Earth, but Carter was only half listening. She was grateful when General Hammond turned off the monitor and raised the lights.

"Well…that was…weird," Carter said.

Jack spun his chair away from the screen. "Yeah, how 'bout that hair?" he said.

"Yeah, Jack, I know that was the first thing I noticed," Daniel said. It was pretty much what Carter had been thinking, but never would have said.

"Oh, Daniel," Jack said, "I don't remember your reality-hopping report saying anything about…" he glanced at Carter, "would-be babies."

"It can't be the Sam and Major Kawalsky from the reality I was in," Daniel said. "They all died-"

"You're telling me there are i more /i alternate realities out there?"

"Yes sir," Carter said, grateful for the opportunity to feel useful. "Theoretically there's a reality for every choice we could make.

"Wait, run that by me again."

"Okay, you remember last week when the commissary had those tuna sandwiches that made everyone sick?"

"Yeah…we didn't eat 'em because the Land of Light folks just did that big anniversary feast thing," Jack said. "Carter please don't tell me reality is hinged on a tuna sandwich."

"Well, yes, in a manner of speaking, sir. We missed the whole situation because we were on P3X-797, but once we had the option to accept or decline the feast invitation, an alternate reality may have been created for the choice we didn't take. That's, of course, an over-simplified example."

"So, how many realities could there be?"

"Sir, the possibilities are endless."

Jack looked around the briefing room. "Am I the only one who has a problem with this?"

"Which reality is actually real?" Teal'c said.

"That, too!" Jack said.

"Okay, people. Settle down," Hammond said. All this alternate reality hoo-ha gave him a headache, and he was more than happy to trust Major Carter on the specifics if it meant they could get back to the issue at hand. "Major Kawalsky and Dr. Carter have asked to be debriefed, and I'd like you all to participate."

Samantha and Kawalsky walked into the briefing room, but it wasn't long before Kawalsky was charging at Teal'c. "What the hell is he doing here!" Kawalsky snarled. Two SFs held him back and another two had their weapons out and at the ready.

"He's a member of SG-1," Daniel said quickly. Recognition flashed in Kawalsky's eyes and he relaxed until remembering that this wasn't his reality and that wasn't his Daniel. "That is the first prime of Apophis!" Kawalsky yelled, renewing his struggle against the SFs.

"Indeed I was once the first prime of Apophis," Teal'c said calmly, "but in this reality I have denounced him as a false god and pledged my services to the people of this world."

"It's true," Daniel said. Kawalsky looked from Teal'c to Daniel. He didn't want to sit at the same table with a Jaffa, but he also knew that if he wanted to stay in this world, he'd have to trust them.

"Take a seat, Major" Hammond said. Kawalsky obeyed.

"Nice hair," Samantha said to Carter, as she joined Kawalsky and the rest of the team.

"Oh…uh, Air Force," Carter said.

"I can't imagine I'd join the military," Samantha said icily. Carter tried to ignore her double's condescending tone. After all, she'd been put down by people who didn't think she belonged in the military before. If course, it's a little different when you're putting yourself down.

"Wow, because I can't imagine…not," she said. It wasn't what she had intended to say, but she was glad it was what came out. She was going to say 'I can't imagine being pregnant,' but it was just too hateful of a thing to say to someone who'd just lost everything. She didn't want to be that person. They stared at each other a moment longer before sitting down.

"This isn't the first experience we've had with the quantum mirror," Hammond said once the room had settled down again. He explained how Daniel was transported to a reality that was under Goa'uld attack and how that knowledge had helped stave off an attack in this reality.

"You actually blew up a mothership?" Samantha said.

"Two, actually," O'Neill said.

"That's amazing," Samantha said. "It must be why this was one of only a few worlds that wasn't under goa'uld control."

"Actually," Carter began, still smarting a little from the Air Force dig, "It's probably the very differences of this reality that made the defeat possible. Teal'c's change of heart, Daniel's trip, my being in the Air Force…"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Samantha said, holding up a finger. "You don't really believe you're that responsible for this, do you?"

"No, I'm just saying that it made a contribution-"

"And therefore I didn't."

"That's not what I'm saying at all-"

"Ladies!" Jack said. "Sams…we're all in this reality together."

"Yes, we are," Hammond said, taking control of the meeting once again. "Major, Doctor, just what is it that you want from us?"

"Our world is gone, General," Samantha said. "Our lives are gone…"

"We want to stay," Kawalsky said.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Samantha sat alone in her room. The SF had called it a VIP room, but it looked like every standard hotel room she'd ever been in, except those at least had televisions. Silently she pulled a folded photo out of the pocket of her jumpsuit.

It was the last tangible thing she had from her old life. There was the baby, of course. She loved it to pieces, and couldn't wait to see it, but she couldn't touch it. She couldn't hold it and kiss it. Not yet. All she had was a crumpled picture from her wedding day.

Wiping a tear from her eye, she unfolded it. They had taken hundreds of pictures that day, and at least a dozen were some variation of what she held in her hands now.

"_We need a picture for the newspaper," Samantha said._

"_Why? Everyone who cares is here…"_

"_We just do, Jack!"_

And so it had begun. Jack flagged down the photographer, Samantha did some last minute re-arranging of flowers, and they stood side-by-side while the photographer snapped shot after shot. Samantha's eyes were closed. Jack's eyes were closed. One of them wasn't smiling. And on, and on, and on. Just as shot 11 was about to happen Jack had wrapped his arms around Samantha, kissed her cheek and whispered something lewd and obnoxious in her ear. Samantha doubled over with laughter just moments before the flash went off.

"_That's the one!" Jack yelled triumphantly. "Print it! Frame it! Hang it on the wall!"_ He had started to walk away, but Samantha grabbed his wrist and pulled him close. _"I don't think so, flyboy."_ She quickly kissed his lips and turned towards the camera for shot 12.

It was number 12 that went to all their friends and the newspaper, but it was number 11 that she cherished. She could never forget his impish grin, and Jack was the only one who could make her laugh with such wild abandon. She could still feel his arms wrapped around her waist and his breath tickling her neck.

Samantha leaned back against the pillows and rested a hand on her swollen stomach. She was as big as house, and Jack hadn't been able to wrap his arms completely around her waist in weeks. Instead he had taken to kneeling on the kitchen floor, bad knees be damned, and talking into her belly-button.

"_Hello, tiny-little-person-who-as-of-yet-remains-nameless."_

"_Jack!" Samantha said, swatting playfully at his head._

"_What? You want me to call her 'Junior?'" Jack said, rising to his feet._

"_Him."_

"_Her."_

"_I'm telling you, Jack, it's going to be a boy," Samantha said as she pulled food from the refrigerator._

"_Tell me, Dr. O'Neill, are you a psychic or a scientist?"_

"_Maybe I'm both," Samantha said carefully stacking beef on a slice of bread. "Daniel agrees with me."_

"_At this point, I don't think Daniel would argue if you said the sky were red and the grass were blue," Jack said, stealing a slice of meat. "Besides, Kawalsky agrees with me."_

"_You just stole food from a pregnant woman, babe, and Chuck has to agree with you. You outrank him." _

"_Oh yeah. Rats."_

Samantha set the photo on the nightstand and rolled to her side. Maybe if she went to sleep staring at it she could forget the nightmare that her life had become. Her eyes had just closed when she heard a knock on the door – probably the evening meal -- and the scrape of metal on concrete as it opened.

"Just put it on the table and close the door on your way out," Samantha said.

"I'm sorry, put what on the table?"

"Jack!" Samantha rolled over and did her best not to feel self-conscious as she pulled herself to her feet. "I'm sorry. Your Dr. Fraiser keeps insisting that I eat something.

"Ah," Jack replied. "Well, she's your Doc Fraiser, now, too. They said yes. You're in!"

"Oh," Samantha said. "That's good." This Jack looked just like her Jack.

"Yeah, I can see you're overjoyed," he said. He sounded just like her Jack, too.

"I just…I just never expected it to be like this," Samantha said. "It's so hard." She was crying now. It unnerved Jack a bit, but that didn't stop him from laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said. Samantha wiped tears from her cheek and brought her hand to his. She rubbed her thumb across his fingers, and for a second it felt like home. Jack tensed under her touch, and she pulled her hand away and stepped back.

"You don't understand," Samantha said. She sank onto the bed and put her head in her hands. "Three days ago I saw you die, and it was the worst moment of my life. Now I'm here, and you're here and alive, but you don't even know me."

"Well…I sort of know you…"

"You know her," Samantha said. "You know _Major_ Carter, and when you look at me, you see her." Jack opened his mouth to protest, but Samantha beat him to it. "And don't say that you don't, because I know you do….and you don't see her the way you saw me."

Jack, not knowing what to say, said nothing — opting instead to stare at his boots.

"And now I've made you uncomfortable."

"No," Jack said, turning to look at her. "It's just…I get confused easily...and…to be honest I'm still trying to work through all the pronouns in that last sentence…"

Samantha smiled and laughed. "God, you are so exactly like him," she said, but her smile soon faded to be replaced with a quivering chin that threatened to bring more tears. Jack stared at her, trying to think of anything he could say or do that would keep her from breaking down. He was about to reach out for her when she gasped and her hand flew to her stomach.

"What? What is it?" Jack asked. She was right. He didn't know her, and that she looked just like Carter was weird for him, but he couldn't help but be concerned for her and the child she carried.

"The baby just kicked," Samantha said with a smile.

"Oh," Jack said. "That's unusual?" She looked far enough along that the kid should be doing the Macarena by now.

"He's apparently the shy and quiet type," Samantha said.

"He?" Jack said. "So it's a boy."

"Don't get me started on that," Samantha said. "See, we want to be surprised, but I just know that it's a boy, but you…he…he swore up and down that it's going to be a girl."

She smiled again and grabbed Jack's hand, placing it on her stomach. "Feel that," she said.

"Okay, uh this is getting—whoa," Jack said as the baby pressed against his palm. "Whoa," he said again. "Kid's gonna be a great soccer player."

They sat for a moment in silence until a knock at the door caused them to spring apart. An SF entered with a tray of food. "Sorry, Colonel," she said. "I didn't realize-"

"That's okay," Jack said cutting her off before she could leap to any conclusions. He wished he didn't feel like a teenager who had just been caught making out with the neighbor's daughter. "Just leave it on the table and close the door on your way out." Yeah. Because that would help the mountain's gossip mill.

As the airman left, Samantha walked to the tray and lifted the lid. "I haven't had a hot meal in forever," she said. "Three weeks ago I was sitting in the nursery with you…my you. We were eating sandwiches and trying to put the crib together. Can you believe it? A physicist and an Air Force colonel bested by IKEA? When we got the call that Apophis was entering the solar system we left everything." Samantha wanted to continue. She wanted to keep talking about her life and what they had done, but every good thought was tainted with thoughts of his death.

Jack watched her struggle with her emotions, and wished he could help ease her pain. Then he realized that maybe he could. "I should go," he said, and moved toward the door.

"Jack!" she said, reaching for his arm, "Please don't go."

"Look," he said, putting both hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes, "You're obviously dealing with a big loss here, and I might not be the best person to help you through it-"

"You're the only one who can help me!" Samantha said. "And I know you well enough to know that you don't have a clue what to say…but you don't have to say anything."

She was right. Unable to speak but unable to leave, Jack just stared at her before enveloping her in his arms.

* * *

Carter was almost to Samantha's room when she saw the Colonel come out. He looked a little dazed and confused, but no more than usual when confronted with theoretical science. Everyone, well most-everyone, knew the Colonel played dumb a lot of the time, but Carter had no trouble believing that alternate realities and multiple selves gave him the wiggins.

"Sir!" she said, snapping him out of his reverie. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," he said almost absent-mindedly. "Whatcha doing?"

"Well sir, I took the liberty of informing Major Kawalsky about the situation, and I thought I'd drop in on Samantha. I think we got started on the wrong foot, and I'd like to give it another shot."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate it, but right now I think she'd rather be alone," O'Neill said. "Why don't you come back tomorrow."

"Oh," Carter said. "Okay." As she walked away O'Neill called out to her.

"Hey, how are you doing with this whole twin-thing?"

"You got a couple hours?"

"Uh…okay." O'Neill looked at her as if he were actually ready and willing to go the commissary and talk for hours over pie and coffee. Of course, he still looked a little confused, too.

"That _was_ the answer," Carter said.

"Oh, right. Uh…okay," Jack said. "Have a good night, Carter."

"You too, Sir," Carter said with a smile. As she walked away, Jack had the distinct impression that he didn't have a clue about what had just happened.

* * *

The next day was a blur for Samantha. It was nothing but paperwork and tests, and she hadn't seen Kawalsky or anyone from SG-1 all day. General Hammond had stopped by, and he was pleasant enough, but Samantha could tell that the entire situation made him uneasy.

As the day wound down, Samantha ended up back in her room. She was brushing her hair when Kawalsky knocked on the door and came in without waiting for an answer.

"Hey Sammy, how you doing?" he asked. Samantha was extremely glad to see him, but she hated when he called her Sammy.

"Well, Chuckles, I've been poked and prodded all day, but apparently I'm fine. How are you?" Kawalsky gave her a mock glare.

"What did we say about the whole 'Chuckles' thing?"

"What did we say about 'Sammy'?" Kawalsky raised his hands and smiled at his friend.

"You win," he said. "Seriously, though. How are you?"

"Medically fine for an 8-months-pregnant woman. Been in the infirmary all day, just to make sure. This Janet is a lot like our Janet. You?"

"Well, I've been stuck in a closet all day-no pun intended. General Hammond has me going over old mission reports to see if we learned anything they don't already know…but you know that's not what I meant."

"I know," she said. "I think I'm doing better today. Jack…Colonel O'Neill...came to see me last night. I kind of had a little break down, then. It was good to get things out."

Samantha looked at Kawalsky. On the surface he looked fine -- barely phased by everything that had happened – but when she looked deep in his eyes she could see the pain that simmered beneath the surface. It was the same pain she felt, and it made her feel like bad friend for not recognizing it sooner.

"God, Chuck," she said, "I haven't even asked how this is for you." Kawalsky waved his hands dismissively, but she continued on. "I had Jack here to cry on and that was hard enough, but-"

"Hey, Sam, it's okay," Kawalsky said. "I made a lot of peace in the days since it happened. That's what we're trained to do, you know? Mourn and move on. Finish the mission."

"But this isn't a mission anymore, Chuck" Samantha said. "It's life now. It's your life, now. You can't tell me that seeing him again isn't hard for you."

"Actually," Kawalsky said, "I haven't seen him that much. He showed up at the infirmary and then there was that time in the briefing room, but that's it." Kawalsky sat down on the bed next to Samantha. "I haven't seen him or talked to him since." Kawalsky turned his gaze to the floor and let out a long breath. "Which is good," he said with resignation, "because those first two times were hard enough."

"I know," she said, taking his hand in her own.

"The weird thing," Kawalsky said, "is that I can't tell if I'm being actively avoided or what's going on."

"Well, you could try finding and talking to him," Samantha said.

"Are you kidding?" Kawalsky answered with a laugh. "We're men. We don't just talk. We save each other's lives, get drunk, and go from there."

"Good luck with that," Samantha said with a laugh. The somber mood in the room dissipated, and both its occupants felt immensely better—the darkness of their pasts behind them. At least for now.

"You know," Samantha said, as a thought occurred to her for the first time since their arrival, "in this reality we don't even know if-" she stopped suddenly, and drew a quick breath, her hand tightening around Kawalsky's.

"What? Sam, what is it?" Kawalsky said. "Is it a contraction?"

"No," Sam said stiffly. "It's something else." She rose to her feet, and Kawalsky grabbed her hand, only to be shocked at what he felt. Her hand felt…he had to search for the words, and couldn't believe it when he found them…but her hand felt like a balloon full of hot sand. Like if he squeezed hard enough, she would slip through his fingers in a pile of nothing.

"Sam, I think you should sit back down," he said, but before they could move even two steps, her body spasmed and her legs gave out. As gently as he could, Kawalsky lowered her to the floor.

"Sam? Samantha? God, what's happening?" he stared at her for a fraction of a second before calling to the guards outside.

"HEY! We need some help in here!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter is dedicated to Virago500, who pleaded for no entropic cascade failure. Sadly, the ECF was part of the original plan. I had never planned on actually using these flashbacky-memories, though. I had sort of written them out but it was just to help with character building for alterna-characters. However, through Virago I realized that the story would really be helped if it included more about the mirror-verse lives of Sam and Jack (and I _did _sort of set a precedence with Kawalsky's brief memory in the prologue). 

So, yay, Virago! You made my fic better. Please keep reading, one and all...and reviews are nice, too.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:Stargate SG-1 is the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions, SciFi Channel, and Showtime/Viacom. No copyright infringement intended, no money being made. Some dialogue is borrowed from the episode, and for that, credit goes to Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, and Tor Alexander Valenza.

**Chapter 3**

"What happened?" General Hammond asked, charging into the infirmary. SG-1 and Major Kawalsky were already there, hovering at the foot of Samantha's bed.

"Doctor Carter's going through some sort of convulsive shock," Dr. Fraiser said. "I don't know the cause and I don't know how to stop it."

"How's the baby?" Jack and Kawalsky asked at the same time.

"The baby's fine," Fraiser said. "Its heart rate was elevated briefly, but it's dropped back to normal."

"But you don't know what's wrong with Dr. Carter?" Hammond said.

"No sir, I can't think of a single medical problem that would cause what she's experiencing," Fraiser said. Her eyes scanned across the blinking monitors, but the machines told her nothing.

"Not medical," Samantha said through gritted teeth. "Temporal. Entropic cascade failure."

"On the cellular level?" Carter asked as she rushed to Samantha's side.

"Yes! I thought it would take years not days!"

"So it's a side effect of travel through the quantum mirror," Carter said.

"Then why don't I have it?" Kawalsky asked. He couldn't tear his eyes away from his friend.

"I'm guessing Dr. Carter has it because I'm here," Carter said. It was purely a guess, but also all they had to go on. "The increased entropy caused by both of us existing in the same reality might theoretically be causing a temporal distortion-"

"Not theoretical anymore," Samantha said. She shook again, and as her features seemed to blur out of reality, SG-1 knew they had to do something.

* * *

"If she stays here she'll die," Carter said gravely.

"But if she goes back the Goa'uld will _kill her_," Jack said emphatically.

"Either way, the end result is the same," Teal'c said.

"People," Hammond said, "We need to start thinking of solutions."

"I might have one," Daniel said from the doorway. He entered the briefing room with a stack of old mission reports and passed the pile around the table. "As you know, just under a year ago Jack had all the knowledge of the Ancients downloaded into his brain."

"Ah yes," Jack said. "Good times." Daniel continued, ignoring Jack's comment.

"During that time he built an advanced power source and added a significant number of gate addresses to our dialing program, and through that he was able to reach the Asgard homeworld. Since first contact we've learned that they possess technology far greater than ours and that of the Goa'uld. According to Major Kawalsky, they've never encountered the Asgard in their reality."

"What's your point, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"I'm saying, we still have the dialing program that took Jack to the Asgard homeworld. What if our fate—our contact with the Asgard—can be applied to the alternate reality. If the Asgard there are anything like the Asgard here, they won't just stand by while Earth is destroyed. They'll see the same potential that they saw here and act accordingly."

"I don't disagree with that, Daniel," Carter said, "but there's still the issue of power. I haven't been able to get the power source back online, and without it we can't generate enough power to get to another galaxy."

"Yeah, I know," Daniel said. "But there are two of you here, now. Don't you think we owe it to them to try?" In all the mania surrounding the incident, Daniel had taken for granted that Carter and her double would be able to figure out the power problem.

"The phrase 'two heads are better than one,' does come to mind," Jack said.

"If Major and Doctor Carter are successful in repairing the power source, getting to the stargate once we're on the other side would be extremely difficult," Teal'c said.

"That's where I come in," Kawalsky said, entering the room. He asked to join the briefing, and Hammond, possibly against his better judgment, relented, pointing to a seat next to Daniel. "I'll get her through the gate," Kawalsky continued. He wouldn't let Samantha down again.

"You'll need someone to hook up the power generator," Jack mumbled. He really didn't want anything to do with this whole thing, but he couldn't shake an odd sense of responsibility.

"And you'll need someone to download the dialing program," Carter said.

"How many people do you think you'd need, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"Just a team," Jack said. "Any more people and it'd be too obvious."

"I will accompany you, O'Neill."

"No!" Carter and Kawalsky said simultaneously.

"Teal'c can't go any more than I can," Carter said. "The extra entropy created by two Teal'cs in one reality would lead to the same problem we have here."

"Dr. Carter did not start experiencing negative effects within the first 48 hours," Teal'c said. "If we are gone longer than that, it is quite likely we will be dead."

"It doesn't matter, because we can do it on our own," Kawalsky said. He could barely stand to be in the same room as the Jaffa, much less across from the table, and the thought of trusting his life to Apophis's first prime -- no matter how former he may be --was entirely unacceptable. "We don't need him."

"Wait," Daniel said, "you said that Teal'c led the assault on the mountain in your reality. So, from a tactical standpoint, wouldn't it work to our advantage to have Teal'c with us?

"Quite the military mind, Doctor Jackson," Jack said. Kawalsky hated to admit it, but Daniel made a good point. Like always. It seemed no matter what reality he was in, Kalwasky was destined to be on the losing side of arguments with Daniel Jackson.

"Fine," Kawalsky said.

"Are you really okay with this, Sir?" Jack asked Hammond.

"If you're confident you can pull it off, I have no objections," Hammond said.

"Well, we're not going anywhere if we can't get that power source up and running," Carter said.

"All right then," Jack said as he rose to his feet. "Kawalsky, show Daniel how the mirror thing works. Carter once you've got the dialing program ready meet me and yourself in the lab. Let's get this over with."

* * *

"If the Asgard are everything you say they are, then they're just the little green men we're looking for," Samantha said as she, Jack and Carter entered the lab.

"Gray, actually…Roswell gray," Jack said.

"Let's just hope we can raise them," Samantha said. "What can you tell me about this power source?"

"Me? It glows," Jack said. "Beyond that, I got nothing."

"With the exception of the energy module of a staff weapon, it was constructed entirely out of items made on earth," Carter said.

"If it's powered by the energy module of the staff weapon, why doesn't it-"

"Blow up? My best guess is that the device creates a modulated dampening field around the liquefied naquada, which controls the energy transfer to the capacitors. So maybe the modulation is thrown out of wack each time the device is used," Carter said, "But how do you even begin to recalibrate a field that you can't generate in the first place?"

"Are you two going to be able to figure this out?" Jack asked.

"We'll figure it out," they said. No sooner had the words left her mouth than Samantha was gripping the edge of the table. Her body tensed and her breath was ragged.

"Are you okay?" Carter asked. Worried for her parallel self, she helped Samantha onto a stool.

"I'll be fi-," Samantha began, but before she could finish the sentence, she doubled over in pain.

"Two in a row?" Carter said, barely able to believe it.

"No," Samantha pleaded. "Please, not yet."

"Oh god," Carter said, "uh…Sir." A large wet spot was forming on the front of Samantha's jumpsuit.

"Oh you've got to be joking," Jack said. "Tell me she didn't just go into labor."

**Author's Notes: **Sorry about the big delay. School and other aspects of real life took over. Not to mention that this was a hard chapter to write, and I'm still not sure I like it. I feel like I took too much directly from the episode.

Now I know why directors hate filming in the briefing room, but at least they can cut the table in half and do nifty camera tricks.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Stargate SG-1 is the property of MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions, SciFi Channel, and Showtime/Viacom. No copyright infringement intended, no money being made. Some dialogue is borrowed from the episode, and for that, credit goes to Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright, Robert C. Cooper, and Tor Alexander Valenza.

**A/N:** My apologies for the long delay. I haven't given up on this fic, a lot of things just got in the way. I'm going to try to update more often and hopefully this will be finished before too long.

**CHAPTER 4**

People go to infirmaries and hospitals when they're sick. When they need help. When they need saved. That's exactly what Samantha had done. She even took it to the next step and went to an alternate reality to escape the danger that plagued her world.

The irony wasn't lost on her. This world was supposed to save her life and the life of her child. Instead it was killing her. Fortunately she hadn't had to endure a contraction and an ECF seizure at the same time, but just knowing that that kind of agony was possible and the thought of what it could do to her baby was enough to keep her chilled to the bone.

Samantha heard a light knock on the door.

"How ya doin'?" Jack asked before entering the room and standing awkwardly beside her bed.

"Been better, you?"

"Oh, you know, another day another dollar."

"Same stuff different day."

"The wheels of time go 'round."

Samantha smiled. She could remember conversations almost exactly like this between the Jack and Daniel of her world. Fresh out of clichés, she remembered why she left that game to her boys.

"Anyway," Jack said, bringing an end to the uncomfortable silence that had formed, "Carter's still working on the power source…"

"I know," Samantha said, "God, I feel so useless. I should be out there helping!"

"Hey, no," Jack said, sitting gingerly on the side of her bed. "You need to be in here doing what you're doing. Besides, just because you're not out there scribbling on a whiteboard doesn't mean you're not still thinking about solutions…right?"

"Right, but Major Carter-"

"Ah!" Jack said, raising a finger. "Besides, can you imagine what those marker fumes would do to Junior? Hell, the damn things give me a headache, and my nose isn't pressed up against the board."

"Sean," Samantha said.

"I'm sorry?"

"The baby. We were going to name him Sean. Or Natalie."

"Natalie…kind of a feminine name, don't you think?"

"Natalie if it's a girl, you shit!"

"Oh, right. Whatever happened to 'I know it's a boy'?"

"I do."

"Right, methinks the lady-"

"I'm not going to argue with you," Samantha said almost playfully.

"Yeah, well-"

"Colonel O'Neill," Walter Harriman said from the doorway.

"Will nobody let me finish a sentence," Jack grumbled before turning to the door. "Yes, Sergeant?"

"General Hammond would like to see you in his office," Walter said.

"I'm on my way."

Samantha watched Jack walk to the door, and knew if she was going to ask him the question that had been building up insde of her, she had to do it now.

"Jack!" she called out, trying not to wince at the use of his name. Jack spun around and looked at her. "Before you go…"

"What is it," Jack asked, returning to her side.

"I need to ask…will you stay with me?"

"The General's waiting," Jack said, pointing at the door.

"Not now," Samantha said. "If…when we figure out the power source, there's no way I can fight my way past some serpent guards and go through the gate like this. Short of a miracle, this baby's being born here."

Jack didn't like where this was going.

"Will you stay. Please?"

"Samantha…"

"If I stay here Major Carter can go, and surely between her and Chuck and Daniel and…Teal'c…"

"I'm not him," Jack said. He may be Jack O'Neill, but he wasn't her husband or the father of her baby. It was brutal, but honest.

"I know." Samantha said. "I know you're not, but could…could you just lie to me? Just this once…just for awhile?"

Jack stared at his hands. He didn't know what to say, didn't even know what he wanted to say. He might have sat there for hours pondering the ramifications of every possible answer were it not for a strategically timed throat-clearing by Sgt. Harriman.

"I have to talk to General Hammond," Jack said quietly. "In the meantime…"

"I'll keep thinking about the power source while pushing out a small person," Samantha said with every bit of humor she could muster. It wasn't much.

"Can I come in?" Kawalsky said, poking his head through the partially open door of Samantha's room. She nodded and watched him enter and pull up a blue plastic chair.

She hadn't heard from Jack…Colonel O'Neill…since their last conversation. To be honest, she wasn't sure she would hear from him.

In retrospect, _she_ was a little disturbed at what she had asked of him, and she could only imagine how he felt. Still, true or not, she wanted him with her, and the thought that she may be in this alone was terrifying.

She couldn't tell Kawalsky that, though. Whether he'd believe it or not, she had to be strong. For her, for him, and for the baby.

"You brought me flowers?" she asked.

"Well, sort of," Kawalsky said, laying the plastic and fabric bundle on her bedside table.

"You stole those from the commissary, didn't you."

"Well…yeah," Kawalsky said. "But you gotta give a guy credit for trying."

"That's so sweet of you," Samantha said, "but shouldn't you be showing Daniel how the mirror works?"

"Ah, it's not like that takes a long time," Kawalsky said. Samantha raised her eyebrows at the memory of just how long it actually took the first time around.

"Chuck…"

"Look, we both know he's about a bazillion times smarter than me in our reality, this reality, and I suspect any reality that possesses a Dr. Daniel Jackson and Major Charles Kawalsky. It won't take him as long to figure it out."

"Well, then just go talk to him."

"Sam, why would I do that?"

"It could be therapeutic."

"Thera…therapeutic? Are you out of your mind?"

"Possibly, but it'll help. Believe me."

"A.) I'm sorry, Sam – I love you, but I don't buy it – and 2.) You and the other you are going to figure this power thing out, and I'm going back through the mirror, calling up these Asgaard folks and then we're both going home. Whatever 'good' might eventually come out of any conversation this Daniel and I have now… given the time we're going to be here it's just not gonna be worth it."

Kawalsky stopped his tirade and looked at Samantha. Her head was cocked to the side and her brow knitted together, either in thought or pain, Kawalsky wasn't sure. "Sam? You okay?"

"What did you say?"

"I asked, 'are you okay?" Kawalsky repeated.

"No, before that," Samantha said. Kawalsky would have answered, but he could practically see the cogs working in her brain. She wasn't talking to him. "it wasn't worth the energy—" Samantha stopped mid-sentence, her eyes aglow with realization. "Get Major Carter, right now!"

"So you figured it out?" Jack asked, plopping into the nearest chair.

"It was simple, really," Samantha said. "All we needed was the ratio of the decay rate of naquadah relative to the energy output-"

"Which I learned to calculate when I learned about our new naquadah generator. It's the ratio--"

"Ah!" Jack interrupted with a raised finger. "You figured it out?"

"Yes, sir," Carter said.

"Great. General Hammond is waiting in the briefing room to discuss your plans for getting in, contacting the Asgard and getting out."

"Whoa, wait a second," Daniel said. "Our plans?"

"Are you not accompanying us, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"No." The entire room was stunned, but perhaps no one moreso than Samantha.

"Sir," Carter began.

"Carter, I don't want-"

"No, Jack, Sam's got a point, here…"

"Oh for cryin' out loud, guys! Go. Briefing room. Now."

As everyone filed out of the infirmary room turned impromptu science lab, Jack tossed a final glance over his shoulder.

"Thank you," Samantha said softly, tears threatening to overcome her.

Jack nodded and continued down the hall.


	6. Chapter 5

**Title: Alternate Point of View**

**Author's Notes: Sorry! Not abandoned, just hasn't been a priority. I'm going to try the unthinkable and work to at least get through where the episode ended by the end of the month. While doing a NaNoWriMo. Wish me luck.**

It looked like their SGC. The halls were the same. The offices, the labs, even the commissary. It was all the same, right down to the hastily scrawled neon green words proclaiming Friday 'Chicken Ala King Day,' and the bulletin board that had been advertising the same puppies to a good home for three years.

But a little time in this SGC made the difference stand out in stark comparison. Scorch marks from staff weapons marred the walls. Bullet casings and dust from broken concrete carpeted the floor. Streaks of dried blood stood out against the the gray background where bodies had been dragged and disposed of. To Sam, Daniel and Teal'c it was the blood dopplegangers for familiar faces, but to Kawalsky it was all that remained of Walter and Siler. General Hammond and Dr. Frasier. Jack and Daniel. His friends. His family.

He wanted to pause and reflect. Scream a few choice phrases to Apophis and his Jaffa. He restrained himself. It wouldn't do any good. They were gone, but there was still hope for the planet. There was still hope for Samantha and the baby and by God he was going to make things as right as he could for them.

So they continued on, creeping through the halls. It was one level up to the main power grid and two levels up to the control room, and every sound -- from the creak to the access panels to the crunch of glass beneath their feet sounded like heavy artillery in a library. But otherwise, it was quiet.

The silence was unnatural, and when they heard the clanging steps of serpent guards, a mix of anxiety and relief swept through the team. The anxiety was stronger, and they ducked into a nearby lab.

As the footsteps fell away, Teal'c rose and stepped out of the lab, strong and confident -- the only way a First Prime would ever enter a room, hall or situation. To his left he saw the tail end of a staff weapon disappear around a corner. To his right, nothing. He raised one hand and silently beckoned the rest out.

They were close to the corridor that would take them to the main generator, and Teal'c started that way when Kawalsky's hand grasped at his arm.

"I've got point." Kawalsky said firmly. "I know the way."

"The layout for the two Stargate Commands is identical." Teal'c said. "I, too, know the generator's location."

Kawalsky glowered and opened his mouth to speak when Daniel laid a hand on his arm.

"Look, it makes sense," Daniel said. "If Teal'c leads the way and we run into any more Jaffa he can say he found us, took us prisoner and is transporting us to Apophis."

"Well, that makes me feel a lot better," Kawalsky growled.

"Guys," Sam interrupted, "We don't have time to argue. Major, I know you don't trust Teal'c, but WE do. For now, that'll have to be enough. Now let's move out. Teal'c, take point."

**************

Jack tapped lightly on the door before entering Samantha's room and handing her a pink plastic cup of ice.

"Thank you," Samantha said, as he settled into a chair next to her bed.

"No problem," Jack answered, absent-mindedly folding the pages of an old People! magazine and keeping his eyes on the wall and an ear tuned to the hallway beyond. What had seemed like a good idea at first -- or at least, the gentlemanly option -- now seemed like a plan riddled with holes. Jack trusted every single person that went through that mirror -- even the Kawalsky that wasn't theirs -- and he had faith in his team, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had a made a mistake.

Then Samantha winced. As her grip tightened on the bed rail, Jack let the magazine fall to the floor, and pried her fingers from the plastic until his hand was in hers, her nails leaving small crescents in skin. He wasn't sure why -- maybe it was just the right thing to do, maybe it was because she had the face of Sam and he would never want his friend to have to go through something like this alone, maybe it was residual guilt from so many years ago -- but whatever it was, being here felt right.

"Sorry," Samantha said as the contraction pangs passed and she loosened her grip on his fingers.

"Nothing to be sorry for," Jack said, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face. She smiled gratefully.

"Looks like you've done this before."

"Actually, not really," Jack replied. "Well, there was that time on Argos, but that was nothing."

"No kids here, then?" Samantha asked.

Jack took a deep breath. "I, uh, I had a son," Jack said. "But I was overseas when he was born. Missed the whole thing. But Sarah -- my ex-wife -- her dad was there with her, so..."

Jack's words trailed off, but nothing really needed to be said. Apparently there were similarities between their realities after all. Samantha was about to speak, when the door burst open and a slim, bushy-haired man burst through.

"Hello folks," he said, casually glancing at Samantha's chart. "And how are we today? Ready to have a baby?"

"Uh, where's Janet? I mean, Dr. Frasier?" Samantha asked.

"Oh, she'll be here," the man said, "but SG-5 ran into some unpleasantness and she got held up with them. But I'm Dr. Olbermann, and you don't have anything to worry about. I specialize in obstetrics and have dealt with a lot of...tricky situations."

"Tricky situations? It's a baby not a squid." "What kind of unpleasantness?" Jack and Samantha said simultaneously.

"Oh, it was nothing too serious, Colonel," the doctor said. "They staff blasts and falling rocks, from what I understand. And ma'am," he said, turning to Samantha, "I just meant that my experience could be helpful given your...situation."

"See a lot of patients from alternate realities, Dr. Olbermann?" Samantha said through gritted teeth.

"In point of fact...well, no. But I was just saying you don't have to worry. Now let's have a look, shall we?"

As the doctor who wasn't Janet settled in, both Jack and Samantha sent silent prayers for SG-5's safety and Janet's quick return.


End file.
